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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1912)
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DUCaME'l RtTTM TO Oin(X The. most significant Incident In the lucent French Cabinet maneuvers la th return of M. Delcasee to the For eign Office- During the late difficul ties with Orrmany over Morocco thl energetic and competent statesman was ostensibly Secretary of the Navy, but his real duty was to tell the Cabi net what to do In the German nego tiations. This duty he fulfilled with admirable ability. T'nder the guid ance of his courage and wisdom Franco held her own In Morocco at the comparatively trifling cost of sac rificing some territory at the mouth of the Congo, territory which Is not essential to the development of her African empire. The outcome of these negotiations was unsatisfactory to the general public both In France and tiermany. Each nation shrieked that the other had cheated It. In France the outcry, with other matters, has finally turned out the Cabinet, and In the shuffle M. Delcasse has been re stored to his proper post at the head of foreign affairs. This was his posi tion In 10S when the Emperor Will iam made his bullying visit to Morocco with the intent to frighten the French away from that region. In the Euro pean hubbub which ensued M. Del casse maintained an attitude so firm that Germany threatened war. The French were' not then quite ready to fight and so he was .removed from the Foreign Office and the Kaiser was sufficiently pacified to assent to the Algeclras agreement. The later disturbances over Morocco have ended In a decided growth of French power and prestige In that section. She has secured the practical ownership of It. Germany retains tome commercial privileges, but they amount to very little more than other nations enjoy as a matter of course. The French position In Europe Is also appreciably stronger than It was six years ago, and If It came to the pinch the would probably feel able and will ing to fight Oermany. of course with the aid of Great Britain, which la at her disposal when she needs It. But '.he French people are fond of colonics, ihough they never have been very successful In holding them. They look upon their African Empire as a far more precious possession than it really Is. and the sacrtflce of a fraction of It to satisfy "German greed" has not pleased them. The Ministry which as ented to the bargain has had a ttormy time ever since, and now It has definitely gone under. President Fal lieres has had so much trouble In get ting a new Cabinet together that ex citable men like Henry Rochefort have begun to talk of revolution and the downfall of the republic, but that is lolly. The republic never was so table as It Is now. and its European prestige never was so Imposing. France stands In less danger of revo lution than Germany. The loss of the territory at the mouth of the Congo doe not Interfere with French colonial plans very much, though It la of the greatest strategic advantage to Germany to have ob tained It. The natural path of French advance In Africa is by way of the Sahara from the North. Along thlf route her progress will be sure, though perhaps a little slow, and there Is no power to Impede her pioneers. Quit unlike traditional conquerors and em pire builders, she makes the earth green as she advances. The weapons by which France Is conquering her empire In Northern Africa are wells for irrigation and houses for settled colonists. Germany, on the other hard, already has a colony on the east coast of Africa between the Equa tor and the parallel of 10 degrees south. This is the latitude of the mouth of the Congo. Naturally she wishes to extend her possessions across the continent and thus Include the en. tire course of the Congo. A railway parallel to the great river Is already projected. With this belt across Af rica at the Equator Germany would effectually divide the British colonies in the North from those at the Cape. The, only break la British territory froc the Mediterranean to the Cape ef Good Hope is the German colony, which la about BOO miles wide. Its arestern boundary is Lake Tanganyika, erhlch is the source of the Congo. Along the eastern shore of this long lake runs the route of the "Cape to Cairo" railroad which England has de termined to build. If German plans f aggression are carried out this road must ran for some 500 miles through the Kaiser's dominions, and will thus lose a great part of Its military value. Hence we perceive that the real clash in Africa Is between Germany and Great Britain. Germany wants to stretch her colony from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. England wants to run without a break from Egypt to the Cape. The two nations stand aquarely In each other's way. In the past such colonial conflicts have al ways been settled by war. Perhapr some better way out of this difficulty will 'be found. If England can oust Germany from East Africa the vast Indian Ocean will be surrounded on three sides by her possessions. The Arabian peninsula seems to be an ex ception, but really it is not. British territory Just about encloses Jt. and If the region had any value England would take it forthwith without effec tive deposition. Abyssinia, at the foot of the Red Sea. does not come down to the coast. It la cut off by a petty French colony and the remnants of Italian holdings, which Great Britain does not dislike. Both Italy and France are her firm friends and both ef them detest Germany. ' The Impor tant point to remember is that French and British colonial Interests la Africa do not conflict at all, while between I those of England and Germany a clash Is probably Impossible to avoid. If a colonial and commercial war should break out. therefore, between the Kai ser and King George. It Is not difficult to foretell what France would do. The firm stand which England took for rr.nr)i claims in the late Moroccan trouble would no doubt be richly re paid in troops for African service. TKOCBIJs IN TRS I" AMI L Y. Professor Wilson's unflllal treat ment of his political parent. Colonel Harvey, has naturally made a great commotion In the Democratic family. Colooel Watterson has to explore his extensive vocabulary In order to ex press himself with sufficient modera tion. Here Is one guarded paragraph from the Colonel's long letter: That Ontrnor Wilson, without the leaat ha of compunction, should spras or yield to nrh an opinion and permit . olonel Harvey to consider blmeelf dlscharsed from Iba poaltlon of trusted Intimacy ha Baa up to this inomnt hold, loft mo little room to douht that Ooaraor Wllaoa la not a man who inakoa common cauaa erlth Bin political associate, or la deeply eensltlTe or hie political oMIcatlona. bocaueo It to but trua and fair to say that aic.pt for Colonel Harroy bo would aot bo la tba running at alL On would Imagine, from th Colo nel's parliamentary, though explicit, language, that he had never befor met a politician with a yellow streak. TT.tUiECnTSO THE KETTUCK. Senator Borah's protest against the persecution of the settlers on the pub lic domain could not hav overstated the facts, no matter how strong the language he used. Th worst conse quence of the land fraud trials and of the conservation campaign In the East Is the general assumption that every man In the West who tries to secure title to a piece of public land Is, by that very fact, a thief, liar and per jurer, to be hounded by special agents and forest rangers until he files to Canada. There he Is welcomed, shown every confidence which his own good faith merits, ahd given title to land without any of the exasperating and humiliating conditions to which he is subjected in the United 8tates. Even if the land laws wer admin istered only In exact accordance 'with their terms and with only as much re gard for Justice to th settler as they permit, they would be overexactlng. A man Is required to make his horn on a piece of land which must be partly cleared of heavy timber and thick brush before he can begin to make It produce a living for htm and hla fam ily. If he absents himself more than a certain length of time to earn a liv ing elsewhere during this period of preparation, a special agent Is at his heels and he must endure a contest which may end In the forfeiture of his claim. In brief. If he remains on hla homestead, he will starve: if he goes away to avoid starvation, he loses the homestead. ' But his position is aggravated by th manner in which, he law Is adminis tered. So convinced are the conserva tionists of the East, who have long ago wasted their share of the -public do main, that every Western settler Is a prima- facie thief and perjurer, that the Interior Department Is deiven by misguided public opinion to keep the West swarming with special agents. Th one idea of these men Is to make a record by tripping up th settler at every turn of the legal road. Their fidelity to duty Is measured not by the number of settlers who are making homes in their district, but by the number they can nag and worry with contests In th land office. The settler escapes th clutches of the special agent only to fall Into those of the forest ranger. If he se lects a tract of agricultural land in a National forest, he risks a contest on the ground that the land is not agri cultural or is needed as a ranger sta tion or la a future power site. There may not be enough timber on it to build his cabin, but that makes no difference. 11 becomes an object of suspicion from the moment he enters the National forest. Secretary Fisher has shown a sym pathetic understanding of the needs of the West, but he Is hampered by obso lete laws, which were drafted tty men who knew not the West. He is ham pered most of all by men through whom he must work men whom he has inherited from his predecessors. They are slaves to bureaucracy and red tape. Ignorant of the West and out of sympathy with It. The land laws need reform and ad ministration In the Interest of the West, as understood by men who know Western conditions. BALTIMORE. THK COJrTEjrTIOX CITT. Baltimore, the seen of th first political conventions. Is coming into Its own again. After being displaced by Western cities, usually Chicago, the Monument City Is to have th Demo cratic National Convention for the first time In 40 years. In making this selection th Democrats set at naught the unhappy associations growing out of the convention they held at Balti more in 180, when the party hope lessly split and mad Lincoln's election possible. At Baltimore was held th first Na tional political convention in the United States that of the Antf-Ma-sonlo party In September, 1831. This was followed In December of that year by the first National convention of the Whigs, which nominated Henry Clay for President, and by that of the Democrats in 183!, which renominat ed Andrew Jackson. The first six conventions of the Democrats and three of the five conventions of the Whigs were held In Baltimore. In 1858 th Democrats met at Cincin nati, but - In 1880, after meeting at Charleston, they adjourned to Balti more, where the nomination of Doug las caused the Southerners to bolt and nominate Breckinridge. That split caused the election of Lincoln, secession and th Civil War. It caused the exile of the Democratic party from control of National affairs for a quarter of a century. So low had It fallen In Its own estimation that in 1873 it met In Baltimore only to In dorse tfl nomination of Greeley by the bolting Republicans. The last Re publican convention in Baltimore was held In 1864, when Lincoln was re nominated. The last Democratic convention held In any Atlantic Coast city was that of 1872. and only one Republican con vention has been held In that section that of 1800. Chicago has become the chief convention city, having been the scene of nine such gatherings since 1864. St, Louis -and Cincinnati have most frequently been her successful rivals. Selection of Baltimore, an Atlantic Coast and Southern City, is significant of th growing Influence of the con servative elements of the East and ! South and of th waning or raaicai Western power In the Democracy. Bryanlsm took the convention of 1908 to Denver, where Guffey and his contesting delegation of Pennsylvania machine men were thrown out. The Eastern Democracy, mostly friendly to Harmon, and the Southern Democracy, whose idol Is Underwood, have taken this year's convention to Baltimore, where Bryan and his followers may be ' given a dose of their own medicine. J The platform and nominations at j Baltimore are apt to be dictated by a conference of the powers which took th convention there by Murphy. Roger Sullivan, Taggart, Guffey and TTncJenarAad'a Southern friends. The . West may be given something- to paci fy It and prevent a repetition of the disastrous split of I860. THE T. M. C A. Tk Portland Toung Men's Chris tian Association gained 1834 new members last year? The attendance at th gymnasium Increased by about 8000. These figures illustrate the magnitude of the work which th as sociation Is doing, but they give no notion of Its. variety. Some careless people suppose that the T. M. C. A is a fanatical, club of distractedly pious youths who spend the day preaching to one another and praying for their neighbors' sins. Many of the members, we dare say. are pious. We wish they all were. But it Is far from the fact to believe that preaching Is their only occupation. They pray, of course, but a great deal of their devotion Is of th practical kind which Paul had In mind when he said that faith without works is of no account. The Y. M. C. A. is a great educa tional organization. It alms to edu cate the entire man, soul, body and Intellect, and so far as we can see It places these three departments pretty nearly on the same level. Just as the Almighty did when he created us. The night and day schools of the association, as Mr. Ladd says in his annual presidential report, "have de veloped Into a veritable university." Most subjects that any human being could wish to know about are taught there by competent Instructors. The night classes are a particular advan tage to worklngmen who are busy by day and th branches are such as prac tical people wish to study. Th fees which the association charges for In struction cannot begin to meet the ex penses, but still they amount to a neat sum In the course of the year, for 1911 they came to about 820.000. XhA hat kind of charitv Is that vhlrh touch a man tn helD himself. and this is what we find constantly practiced at the T. M. C. A. A year ago, in speaking of this wholly praise worthy institution, we suggested mat It ought to receive an ample endow mont tmm some deD&rtlne: millionaire. The suggestion has not yet been fol lowed. Perhaps no millionaire oi sur. flclent wealth has died. Perhaps our hint has been overlooked. In - any case we put It forth again, hoping for better luck this year. We can think of no Institution which better deserves a rich endowment than the T. M. C. A. TirE OREGON PLAN IN OHIO. Rev. Herbert S. Blgelow, who has been elected president of the new Ohio Constitutional Convention, Is a pro gressive, with some slight mental res ervations. Th convention Is in the hands of the liberals and the progres sives and the Reverend Herbert was elected as a result of a coalition be tween the two. The liberals, it seems. are an element that concern them selves chiefly with devising ways and means to prevent Ohio going dry. Brother Bigelow evidently found that the Demon Rum, on close Inspection. was not without one or two redeeming qualities, chief of which was his politi cal influence. President Blgelow Is. strongly in clined toward the Oregon plan of gov ernment. First and foremost he Is for the Initiative and referendum. "But." so It Is reported, "he is not yet ready to take a stand for the recall, at least as It applies to Judges." Like Colonel Roosevelt, Dr. Wilson and other eminent friends of the Ore gon plan. Dr. Blgelow evidently does not car a peppercorn1 for logic. He Is for the Oregon plan with a large and obstructive "If." The Oregon plan in cludes the recall and the recall in cludes the Judges. It Is a fundamental part of the system. The people elect the Judges and doubtless Dr. Bigelow and his illustri ous compeers would aver warmly that the people can make no mistake. If the people are qualified to elect them, why are not the people fit to recall them If they are fit to recall anybody T Why should an exception be made against th people's recalling Judges if it Is not to be made against their electing Judges? FHILAXTITROFT FOBS WASTRELS. A correspondent, who is Interested In the single tax and its application, has submitted to The Oregonlan the following concrete example which we shall try to answer briefly for the ben efit of htm and such others as may be studying the question: Portland. Or.. Jan. 18. (To the Editor.) A and B own adjacant lota valued at 110.000 each. A haa no means to Improve hla; B has $3000, with which he builds a tore build Inc on hla lot and rents It for .-0 per month to C. who puts In a fSOoO stock of merchandlae. - Under the present eratem of taxation we will aaaume that A pays $200 taxea. B $300. and C f 100. Un der the aingie tax system would It be the logical conclusion to aay that As taxea would be $300. U's $300. and C's nothing? SUBSCRIBER. Under the workings of th prelimi nary single tax measures to be pre sented In the next election C would pay no direct tax and A and B would pay equally. Their tax might be 8300 each. It might be more. It might be less. The amount of improvements and personal property excluded from taxation and the amount of license taxes and other revenues abolished throughout th county by the law would affect- the amount A and B would pay. Any figures purporting to' show In advance what any individual's taxes would be under the proposed scheme ar valueless. A great deal of Im provement on land is now lumped in with real property values on th tax rolls and would be excluded under sin gle tax. The amount cannot be ascer tained from the present rolls. Clear ing, grubbing and grading of a lot, for example, are improvements and are not now listed on the tax rolls as im provements, but are included In as sessed lot values. Someone might es timate their value, but there Is no as surance that his estimate would be th same as th Judgment of an assessor valuing property later under a single tax scheme. It should be remembered in study ing results that the single taxers do nnt nronose to aton at raising the pres ent current revenues. All or nearly all the rental value of land Is ultimately to be taken. In the example given, B's lot Is Inadequately Improved. He is receiving only 4 per cent income on an investment of $15,000. If 8 per cent were considered the rental basis on an unimproved lot A's bare $10,000 lot would have a rental value of $800 per year. Most single taxers would let the owner retain enough of this $800 to pay him for act ing as the agent of the Govern ment in ' collecting the rent. If this were 5 per cent, which Is what rental agencies exact, A and B under the full application of single tax would pay In taxes about $760 a year. . Single taxers argue that the community has made the lan.d values and therefore the com munity should receive the benefit. Surplus revenues would be expended on public Improvements, purchase of public utilities and for a. number of other things w do not really need but which would be nice to have. D, who has come to town in recent years, who has never deprived himself of anything in order to lay by for th future and who has no ambition, but a full supply of envy and covetousness -D by mere presence In the commu nity and th fact that he buys food and clothing and rents a room, we are told, becomes a creator of land values. For D's benefit A's lot, for which h has sacrificed comforts and luxuries that D has enjoyed, must yield up all Its rental value for D's further com fort and pleasure. Thus single tax Is a very pleasant dream for D. In fact, single tax phil anthropic interest for him Is a kind of fellow-feeling. It Is very much like the sentiment of the generous charac ter In "The Mikado,': whose song was of this Import: If I'd the power, which I've not, D should enjoy A's happy lot. And A should die In misery That Is, assuming I am D. Tou will not find many single taxers on the real property rolls. In fact, several whose names are appended to articles appearing In Portland news papers are not so fortunate, even, as to be listed In the city directory. Th death of Herman Wittenberg deprives the community of one of Its most public-spirited and energetic citizens at what seemed the height of his career. He was aggressive and broad-minded, not only In his own business but in public affairs, in which he was always active. As a member of the School Board,4jhe Interested himself greatly in extending and Im proving education, and for that alone deserves to be remembered with grat itude. Such men can be ill spared in any community. Say what you will, a ball Is a so ciety function and those who attend feel an irresistible Impulse to wear society clothes. The movement at Eugene to exclude dress suits from certain hops is not well considered. It is no kindness to a young man to encourage him to be clownish In cos tume and manners. If he cannot dress properly for a ball let him stay away until he can. In the meantime he may study his lessons, an exercise which does not require any particular garb. If representative government has fallen somewhat into disrepute in the United States. Senator Bailey, of Texas, is as much responsible for It "as any other man. He lays the blame to "demagogues," but demagogues al ways bray in vain when they have no facts to bray about. In this case Mr. Bailey has supplied the facts. Like an Ill-behaved child,' Cuba can be good when she has to. Which is better for that tumultuous Isle, to have a "liberty" which means endless blood shed or to suffer a "tyranny" which keeps the peace and makes the people happy? A people which cannot gov ern itself ought to bo governed b somebody else. There will be very little kissing done If kisser and kissee must have their mouths sterilized. That will bring the act Into the range of pre meditation, and the thought of pro grammed osculation will drive away all desire. Some scientists are crazy. It la war to the death between mon archy and republic, between Manchu and Chinese, in China. The attempt to assassinate Tuan Shi Kai and the massacre of 10,000 Manchus are signs that the conflict is irreconcnapie. If Draeger, inventor of the pul motor. would us his machine to pump the hot air out of the lungs of some Congressmen, we might get some of th much-desired legislation at this session. . Again has the City Jail been found unfit by a grand Jury that Is, unfit for prisoners who, really, hav a rem edy within their reach. The pity be longs to officials, not criminals. With the price of butter soaring towards 60 cents a pound, the Mis souri dairyman need not worry about the means of providing for his sixteen living children. Harmon has added one more to the explanations offered for the panic of 1907. In Democratic eyes the tariff Is the scapegoat for everything which goes wrong. Warned by the looting during the foreign occupation of Pekln In 1900, th Manchus sell their treasures be fore the foreign troops arrive. Mrs. Evans Is to be commended for her effort to suppress the frozen or ange. Oregon has enough good fruit to supply the home market. Salem barkeepers would better await the psychological moment In seeking more pay. They are a year ahead of the session. This is a little bit of Eastern weath er that flipped over the mountains and comes at the right time. Mor schoolhouses are needed and must be built. They ar a condition of Portland's growth. The spirits needed only to ask from Mrs. Thurston and theV earthly repre sentatives received. The distance from Oyster Bay to Washington is too great for even fifty foot Jumps on skis. A roll call of the Democratic Colo nels on Wilson will make it unanimous. SINGLE TAX IS MENACE TO STATE. Oregoa'a StreasTth Shown by Ability t Take Punishment, Says Asaeaaor. PORTLAND, Jan. 17. (To the Edi tor.) It haa seemed somewhat strang-e to me that In all the articles which have appeared from the advocates of single tax, no reference has been made to the tax burden Itself. I have always supposed that any one who is really In earnest about tax reform must be deep ly interested in this phase of the tax problem, it being by far the most Im portant one before the people of Ore gon today. During the past month re ports have been coming In from the various tax-levying bodies: they all tell the same story. And In addition, the state Is calling on each county for more than double the amount of last year. It would be supposed that the single taxer, his heart apparently so torn and rifted with sympathy for tho home owner of this country, would be plead ing for a reduction of expens.es. but never a word of protest, so far as I have noticed. It has been my mission to go forth annually and make an at tempt at apportioning this tax load among the people in a county, where the burden Is among the lowest, and where the people certainly complain the least. I have noticed this growth from year to year and have fe-lt for the taxpayers, but to suppose that any relief can be obtained by wholesale ex emption Is absurd. And no one, as a rule. Is asking for It, It Is surprising to see how cheerfully the) people shoul der the burden, heavy as It Is, only asking In most cases to be spared from single tax. Who Is there but can offer a good reason why his particular species of property should not be taxed? We have heard many euch. For example, an article recently appeared in The Ore gonlan, offering a good reason why growing timber should not be assessed. I have also heard the same claim made for over-ripe timber. It has even been asserted that land should not be taxed, that dogs and swine should be exempt. "Every family needs a dog to at Its bones and a pig to eat its slops." In view of the heavy Increase In ex penses, generally speaking, throughout the state, I think there has never been a time when the tax rolls needed all forma of property as they do today, and I shudder to think of the result should the entire load be shifted to the land alone. It is certainly very unfortunate that the leaders In this movement should have turned their attention to tax mat ters at this particular time, as there can be little doubt that this agita tion is keeping people out of the coun try. Oregon is a strong state, and nothing proves her strength more than her ability to take punishment and yet keep coming. We are told that Port land, being a fresh water harbor, all seagoing vessels are anxious to put into her waters to clear their hulls of barnacles, but if Multnomah County ever allows herself to get into the clutches of single tax, Portland will have a barnacle on her hull that all the fresh waters of the Willamette and Columbia will not soon wash away. Let every man that takes his dinner pall and goes to the mill or factory, and every man that labors on the street or on the farm, let us each and all bear in mind that when they bar us from the tax roll of our county we will pay dear for the whistle. I believe in allowing every man a right to make himself a voter at a school election, and a right to be drawn on the Jury list of his county: In fact, I want to allow him all the privileges of citizenship. Therefore, to preserve these rights, vot ers of Oregon, be on your guard, relin quish not a alngle gift that Is your heritage from a glorious east; battle for the rights the Constitution has giv en you and never weary of the strug gle. The shadow of single tax hangs like a black pall over every Oregon home. Never cease till the dawn breaks and the shadow flees. v D. B. M'KNIGHT. Assessor of Linn County. Country Town Sayings by Ed Howe When a spoilt boy Is away from his imtuicant anl arlmirlnsr mother, what a spectacle he makes of himself! Too much business makes a man cranky, and too little makes him worry. People are ashamed of the clothes they wore last year and of their last year's habits. If a man Is not found out, be will finally tell on himself. Probably the author of a book reads It after a year or two with as much regret as he reads an old love letter he has written. When your brother comes to town to visit you, and you Introduce him to your friend, your friend will say: "He Is a better-looking man than you are." It Is a way friends have. A man never forgives his wife for having kin, unless they are rich or dis tinguished. Never do what an enemy wants you to do. An enemy wants you to be idle, unreliable and Impolite; and you will particularly please him If you ar a drinking man. Th man who works forgets that he waits. If the marriage service specified all the little details that are Included In the word "cherish," who would be brave enough to marry? THE CALL OP THE HILLS. Oh, comrade, dear old comrade, don't you hear th measured beat Of the pack-train's steady climbing up the rocky, endless steep? Don't you feel again the hill wind on your heated, aching brow, As you listen to the camp-bird calling from the nearest bough? Oh, comrade, dear old comrade, don't you mind when day was done. How we reached the time-worn camp ground with the setting of the sun? How we ate our pan-cooked supper, with the starlight over head. And before the ruddy campflre piled our spring hemlock bed? Oh comrade, you remember with the first streak of the day. How we grabbed our rods and baskets for a speedy get-away. Through the tangled rhododendron, white-trunked alders, firs and brake. To the lonesome stream that wanders from the placid, smiling lake? Oh, comrade, dear old comrade, how we wandered many days Till the dusky shadows lengthened In the waning Summer's haze. Where the lurking trout grew wary as we cast the tempting hooks In the dark green waves that rippled o'er the alder's submerged roots? Oh, comrade, dear old comrade, don't you hear the mountains call? Don't you see the moonlight dancing down the forest's shadowy hall? Don't you see the speckled beauty dart across the sun-flecked stream? Don't you feel all nature calling to the land of life and dream? So comrade, dear old comrade, pack your blankets, gun and rod; Let us leave this stifling city for the fresh and dew-kissed sod; Let us hike back to Got's country where a man can be a man. With our hearts atune to nature's and the everlasting plan. N. A. BARHAN. WOMEN WOULD ENFORCE LAWS. Mother Who Believes la Protecting So ciety Challenges "Effeminate" Men. PORTLAND, Jan. 16. (To the Edi tor.) A bit of Ed Howe's philosophy, found In The Oregonlan today, seems specially timely and appropriate to present conditions in Oregon: For the benefit of the public, and as a welcome lesson, it Is occasionally neces sary to kill a sheep-killing dog. In spite of protests of sentimental people who have lost no sheep and are therefore charitable. Mr. Howe hits upon a fundamental principle of social law and - common sense which some of our Oregon theorists seem to overlook. It is told of Mel)amet All that on one occasion when rumors of popular dis content reached his ears, he ordered that all persona found speaking ill of him or his policies should be hanged in the public garden of Cairo. On the fol lowing morning an English diplomat saw 40 bodies hanging in the garden. He asked the Pasha how he had been able to convict so many so promptly, and received the . astounding repily, "I do not know that those particular men were guilty but there will be no more criticism," This 1b carrying repressive measures to an extreme, but it is never theless the fact that Mehamet All es tablished social order in a country where he found absolute chaos. Government Is not child's play, and the security of a commonwealth cannot be sacrificed to the cowardly scruples of a sentimentalist. It may sometimes unfortunately happen, in a very strict enforcement of law, that an innocent man is punished, but even that should not be altogether regretted. If it serves to enforce a salutary lesson of respect for law; but In Oregon we have had no such question arise. We have the spec tacle of criminals convicted absolutely, by evidence acceptable' to a court of law and the common sense of every well-balanced individual, escaping the Just penalty of their crimes, to be cod dled and feted by the man who through some misapprehension considers him self, not the Governor, but the govern ment. The strongest nations have always been those having strict laws, rigidly enforced. Among the ancient Gauls it was the custom to put to death by torture, in the presence of the army, the last man to respond to the trumpet call to arms. A strenuous method for securing promptness, but effective. In the early daya of our own country many were found who could "endure hardness." Have we entirely degenerated? Have we no more red blood left In us? Is It so terrible a thing that an abandoned criminal, a man who- has deliberately broken the laws of God and of man, should enjoy the blessing of a quick and painless death? We do not hesitate to shoot one of the rabies-Infected coyotes of Eastern Oregon. Should we not, considering the poor beasts' early disadvantages in ed ucation and environment, "give him an other chance"? In the news of today one may read between the lines the story so often repeated, of homes devastated by a beast more dangerous than any to be found In the cattle ranges of Eastern Oree-on. Such men carry on tneir oas tardly work boldly, for they know there Is a very little chance of being caught, onri vn If c.ausrht and convicted they have only to expect a short period of healthful outdoor employment, on good fare, frequently shared ny tne pan whnM nresence at any dinner table should be an honor, representing as he iints our noble commonweaitn. I am a mother with growing sons and ciaiiarhters. I do not think l am nai urally cruel or vindictive, but for my part, I would say inai n mo meu wo grown so weak and "effeminate" that they cannot enforce the laws society has found through many centuries of experiment to be necessary, they might better allow the women a chance at the problem. We may forgive Kipling tnr hl lack of arallantry, and admit that when t comes to protecting our young "the female of the species Is more aeacuy man mo L. P. M. Swedenbore's Works. PORTLAND, Jan. 17. (To the Ed itor.) I notice in an article headed, "Mrs. Tingley and Theosophy," it is stated that anyone Interested in Swe denborg's -works or books can obtain same by applying to some Philadelphia "iave enclosed herewith a stamped envelope, and if It Is possible for you to give the address of this firm. M. S. New Church Tract and Publication Society, Twenty-second and Chestnut streets, Philadelphia. Votes For Women In Sight. PALO ALTO, Jan. 15. (To the Ed itor.) in The Oregonlan of January 7 I found an article on "Women and the Ballot." I was delighted to know you have taken the stand you have, and now the women of Oregon will surely get the suffrage at the next election. Oregon Is ahead of California In many reforms but we are a year ahead In "votes for women." Give your women the ballot. Tou can do it. I lived In Oregon 40 years. MART F. ROSEBROOK. From Coast to Coast the Morning Paper Is Supreme Start in with Boston and think of a newspaper in that city. Then think of every city you can from Boston to Portland. Think of any papers you can that are pub lished in these cities. You will find that they are all morning papers. In Boston they are Globe, Post, Herald, Journal; New York, Herald. Times, World. Tribune. American, Sun; Philadelphia. Inquirer. North American, Record, Ledger and Press; Pittsburg, Dispatch, Post and Gazette-Times; Baltimore, American and Sun; Cleveland, Plain Dealer and Leader; Chicago, Tribune, Record-Herald, Inter Ocean and Examiner; St. Louis, Globe Democrat and Republic; Minneapolis, Tribune; Milwaukee. Sentinel. And so on right straight through to the Coast where we have the Los Angeles Times and Examiner; San Fran cisco Call, Chronicle and Examiner; the Tacoma Ledger; Seattle P.-L; Spokane Spokesman-Review. In Portland it is The Oregonian. In every city there is always ONE great newspaper. One paper that is the power in its city. One paper that has the greatest circu lation, carries the greatest amount of advertising. That paper is the one which pays advertisers best. In Portland this power is THE OREGONIAN. THAT FAMOUS FRICTION THEORY. Human Nature Censes at the Polls is Bourne Idea. New York Evening Sun. When the facts of the Oregon ex periment annoy the Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Jr., he Is not cast down, tie dmnlv retires from the field with dig nity and plucks from his bosom the famous "friction theory" of community endeavor. We believe this great truth to h the Senator's own cr.lld. Cer tainly he Is its only authentlo nurse. It Is the higher mathematics of pro gressive thought, and few there be who can expound its iormuiw. -lho mere mention of it has been sufficient to rout an entire audience. The aim of the theory is simple and obvious: To prove that a thousand -..lftoW ii..i..ni .!! vntn tinsftlf ishlV when using the initiative, referendum and recall. But how complex mo supporting argument may be seen from the following exposition of the doc trine contributed by Senator Bourne to the Atlantic Monthly. v , . ...... ..i i .. in tvi ii7 r,-r A nm ex actly alike; consequently each Individ ual lias a dinerent point oi view or iu na r n.liat nnnutit'it h I O r,VLn nflrtlCU- lar personal or unselfish interest. Where Individuals act collectively or as a community as they must under the Initiative, referendum and recall an infinite number of different forces are set in motion, most of them selfish, AnrV. atrniraltnff tfr filinPOmflrV. Vlllt S.11 different because of the difference in the personal equations or tne anierenv Individuals constituting tne commum- UnfiDiioa rt turtle HlfforPtlCft friC- tion is created each different selfish Interest attacks tne otners Decause oi ib iffapanpa x" n firm Kplfish Interest Is powerful enough to overcome all the others; they must wear each other away until general welfare, according to the views of tne majority uums, ' substituted for the individual selfish Interest." t . no eopti that a fundamental truth is involved. The old Idea that little drops of water make tne mignty ocean and little grains of sand our pleasant earth is left behind for all time. The little drops make Stardust and the sand a soaring sun. The citi zens of Oregon when assembled at the polls are no longer plain John Smith and Peter Robinson. Their common selfishness has been worn away by friction and they stand angels of light, eyes fixed on ths common good and chanting the praises of that perfect altruist, the Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Jr. There are difficulties in the applica tion of the friction theory to certain conditions. It would seem that a verj excellent grade of friction would b found in the prlzering. Yet we have never heard that bruisers displayed anj vast altruistic yearnings after a heart felt contest. Similarly with a peact meeting. The results of friction among a thousand pacifiers assembled for an evening's sport are sometimes; anything but Impersonal and unselfish. But such apparent exceptions are doubtless due solely to our blindness. We should be poor in spirit indeed not to welcome heartily the great friction theory, child of the great Bourne brain. We are glad to record it as the belicl of the progressives that human nature ceases at the polls. ' NEW PROCESS OF ELIMINATION Cocked-Hat Democrat Proposes Teat foi District Attorney Candidates. PORTLAND, Jan. 18. (To the Edi tor.) As a Democrat perhaps It's nona of my Colonel Harvey, yet after read ing Justice Olson's suggestion to the many Republican aspirants for the office of District Attorney, that Is to say, that the number be reduced by a voluntary meeting of the competi tors, and that they all proceed to toss a coin to determine who among them Is the most fit to serve the "cause of right and good morals," I confess that even the writer, a knocked-into-a-cocked-hat Democrat, became possessed of a tremulous thrill, coming up some where out of his amor patriae, but Quickly dampened by Judge Hennessy s opinion that such conduct Is unlawful and amenable to arrest, being nothing short of vulgar gambling. This really Is too bad. We have tried so long and so hard to invent some simple method, without the aid of bosses and assemblies, to do something, I don't know Just exactly what, that It Is a pity we cannot now do some thing just exactly warn vo . through the modus operandi of tossing a coin. Rather than witness a brilliant Idea perish, and go entirely to the devil In a mesh of legal quibbles, as Is some times done in the United States Senate, I respectfully suggest, as a Democrat, a gentleman and a patriotic neutral, that instead of tossing a coin to ascer tain and verify the business in hand, all the gentlemen concerned meet in Judge Kavanaugh's court, during the noon recess, and that the fellow who can hold his breath the longest be declared the Ideal Republican to serve the "cause of right and good morals." J- M- Speaking and Talking Houston Post "Papa, Is a good conversationalist a man who talks a great deal?" "No, he is a man who says a great deal.